These images were taken at the swimming competition that was part of the larger multi-sport competition known as the Warrior Games. The competing atheletes received some form of disabling injury while in service to their country and are either veterans or on active duty. All branches of the US military participated, as well as representatives from the UK and Australian services.

The weeklong competition, held in July 2017 in Chicago, was the first of the games held in public venues, and not on military bases. Let’s hope that this is the first of many visits they make to Chicago and other cities!

The images were all shot using the Olympus OMD-EM5, using the M Zuiko 75-300mm-f4.8-6.7 zoom, or the M Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro zoom lens.

When I saw this (photo) sculpture outside of the Hong Kong Museum of Art in Tsa Shim Tsui, I immediately assumed that it was the work of Anish Kapoor, who had designed and constructed the lovely Cloud Gate sculpture situated in Chicago’s Millennium Park. I was very surprised to see that it was by another artist, Danny Lee. It got me wondering: when you’re working in something as time-consuming as stainless steel, can it be just coincidence that two artists would develop forms so thematically similar?

So, I did a little research. Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate was constructed between 2004 and 2006 (and commissioned for the park, which was to have been completed for, of course, the start of the new millennium), Danny Lee’s Waterdrop (above) was dated 2008.

Confining a photo to square proportions is harder than it looks, I’ve found, especially when your normal range of vision takes in close to 180˚. While a wide angle lens won’t come close to that, it does capture an image that goes far beyond an equal-sided frame. But to share images on Instagram, one does what one must!

Red night district

Noodle artisanry

Imagining a new look

Waiting for John

Lazy temple afternoon

Packing up

Different modes of transport

Judgement

Lucky Strike anyone?

While I just can’t make myself wield the ‘scissors’ with many of the hundreds of images I shot on a recent stay in the Hong Kong area, a few of them do make for fun snapshots of that fascinating part of the world. And the use of Snapseed for some playful editing just adds to the fun!

The beauty of the Mai Po wetlands deserves not a single image, but many (or at least in this case, two). Located in the New Territories, within site of the growing unsightly sprawl of Shenzhen, across the border, this nature reserve managed by the WWF offered a chance to stretch our legs and take in some of the flora and fauna once common to the region.

By late afternoon the waterlilies were closing and submerging back into the marshy wetlands, and the golden sunlight cast reflections of the impressive mangrove stand upon the murky, tannic waters.